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Microsoft’s controversial Windows Recall feature is coming back in October

If you thought that Microsoft was done with Recall after its catastrophic reveal as the main feature of Copilot+ PCs, you are mistaken.

Microsoft wants to bring it back this October 2024. Good news is that the company plans to introduce it in test builds of the Windows 11 operating system in October. In other words: do not expect the feature to hit stable Windows 11 PCs before 2025 at the earliest.

While Recall may have sounded great on paper and on work-related PCs, users and experts alike expressed concern. Users expressed fears that malware could steal Recall data to know exactly what they did in the past couple of months.

Others did not trust Microsoft to keep the data secure. We suggested to make Recall opt-in, instead of opt-out, to make sure that users knew what they were getting into when enabling it.

Microsoft pulled the Recall feature shortly after its announcement and published information about its future in June. There, Microsoft said that it would make Recall opt-in by default. It also wanted to improve security by enrolling in Windows Hello and other features.

conciselyverbose ,

Who thought they were abandoning it?

I doubt they secured it particularly well either, because the nature of proper security is building it from the ground up with security as a core principle, but it was always coming back.

They delayed because “oh shit, people noticed we didn’t even bother with security theater” and to let the backlash die down. They still consider it a major selling point.

stankmut ,

By the comments I’ve seen, it seems like no one read their previous announcement where they said they were delaying the feature while they continued work on it. We already knew they were still going to ship it.

Just having it disabled by default is a massive improvement. It’s crazy that they initially considered releasing it with no encryption and it on by default.

conciselyverbose ,

It’s less bad for sure. And I can understand, theoretically, the value of “that one think I saw that one time”. I’ve definitely spent way longer than I’d want looking for some random reference I’d seen in the past, and I’m in the process of trying to catalogue all the references in my past nonfiction reading after the fact, and it’s definitely a lot of work.

But man, other users on your PC could trivially see everything you did on your system unless you used the dumpster fire that’s edge in private browsing mode, and the people on the project thought that was OK. There’s no way people with that level of lack of awareness managed to adapt the project to not be a sieve.

echodot ,

They did abandon it but it backed itself up

dinckelman ,

Yet another reminder that alternatives, where your privacy is not for sale, and your hardware belongs to you, actually exist in 2024

solsangraal ,

it’s for corporations to deploy on all their worker drones’ workstations

Boozilla ,
@Boozilla@lemmy.world avatar

I wish they would do a much better job of distinguishing corporate workstation versions of Windows and Home versions of Windows. Put all this MS ecosystem garbage on the workstation version, and make the Home version a stripped down to the essentials OS. Which is what most of us try to do with tools like ShutUp10, anyway.

solsangraal ,

i’ll do you one better: all PCs at my job are running win10 LTSC, which was meant for specific use cases like running neon signs and shit

dinckelman ,

Ironically, in reality it’s the exact opposite. The home version is pumped to the brim with this dogshit, while the Enterprise version is stripped to the bare necessities. They likely know that other corporations have the balls to sue them for all kinds of reasons

mesamunefire ,

I get ads on my workstation. Its fun. I cant remove them without getting permission from the IT department. Meanwhile my home computers have no ads at all.

GenXLiberal ,
@GenXLiberal@lemmy.world avatar

Agreed - if I were evil, I would use this data to look for long periods of static/unchanging desktop screenshots to look for inactivity and employees lying about being there or away.

Honestly this is just an arms race. If the above happens (and if I can come up with that use case think about what will come up when someone actually smart thinks about it.)

The response? I’d make a tool that presses alt-tab every 15 seconds a random number of times - to both keep the computer alive and change the desktop view, maybe move the windows around a bit for variety. A usb rubber ducky would be perfect for this.

SzethFriendOfNimi ,

How long before there’s a discovery request for all recall data for a time period and companies start screaming about the risks with recall?

solsangraal ,

companies start screaming about the risks with recall?

this comment veers pretty close to implying that upper and middle management know a single goddamn thing about tech or cybersecurity OR that they listen to their IT guys

cheese_greater ,

What do you recommend? What is the most Apple-like+MacBook like?

Supermariofan67 ,

Framework

cheese_greater ,

Which OS to go with it?

SaharaMaleikuhm ,

Linux distro of your choice

chronicledmonocle ,

If you want “Apple-like” look and feel, KDE Neon, Ubuntu, or Pop_OS! are good first Linux distros to start with.

mx_smith ,

I am running Kubuntu on mine

Voroxpete ,

Elementary is a very polished and user friendly linux distribution designed to familiar to MacOS users.

areyouevenreal ,

A lot of the laptops made by Huawei and Xiaomi are MacBook-like in design at least. Framework is much more repairable though as are business laptops from HP or Dell. Dell in particular has made some quite long battery life laptops in the past like the Latitude 7410 and 7400, though those aren’t particularly new they are at least cheap when bought second hand.

In terms of OS you got to go with some Linux flavor as they offer various DEs some of which are mac like. Obviously macOS and Linux terminals are somewhat similar anyway. PopOS is a great option.

dinckelman ,

I would not, in good conscience, ever recommend a Dell machine to anyone anymore. Not only the design and build quality have gone down catastrophically, but Dell would take literally every opportunity they have to fuck you over.

XPS machines in particular have a solid history of being good on paper, but a nightmare, once you ever need to contact them about issues

kurcatovium ,

We’re about to buy a few new laptops at work. My boss is hardcore Dell fan, I need to prove him it’s no better than anything else on the market.

I’m suggesting either Thinkbook (cheap option, comparable specs cost 2/3 of Dell) or Probook/Elitebook which are still considerably cheaper than Dell in my country.

areyouevenreal ,

XPS aren’t business machines, just premium consumer machines. They aren’t built to the same standard, as would honestly be expected given they cost less. I’ve had my own bad experiences with an XPS laptop and wouldn’t buy one again. Too many compromises in the name of being thin and lightweight.

To be honest I was more suggesting second hand machines where warranty from the OEM isn’t really a consideration.

I think you will find most OEMs don’t really care about customer support unless you are a business. HP, Asus, and friends all have their own horror stories. There are only a few companies like Framework I actually trust.

billiam0202 ,

Zorin is a Ubuntu-derived distro that has multiple desktop managers built in, including one that mimics macOS.

mrvictory1 ,

Ubuntu or Pop OS use GNOME by default which is similar to macOS

octopus_ink ,
henfredemars ,

Their feature may come back to their OS but their OS isn’t coming back to my hardware.

Boozilla ,
@Boozilla@lemmy.world avatar

MS: Here’s a cool new feature!
Users: That is spyware bullshit, fuck off!
MS: But muh ecosystem!
Users: Nobody fucking wants any of that. Now STFU and run my games, grandpa.
MS: sniffs This isn’t over, you little shits.

MyOpinion ,

Of course it is coming back.

sunzu2 ,

It will keep coming until plebs accept parasite.

veeesix ,
@veeesix@lemmy.ca avatar

Since Recall is constantly watching what you do, is it plausible that it could summarize and quantify for an employer how much work is being done on the machine during work hours?

nobleshift ,
@nobleshift@lemmy.world avatar

Or not being done. Recall absolutely will not take into account how many “run & gun” hallway meetings you will have for a simple example, let alone researching an issue on your phone while you shit.

Plenty of productivity & engagement measurement tools already exist anyhow.

pivot_root ,

From: [email protected]
Subject: [ACTION REQUIRED] Work Policy Violation

Dear Wayge Slavei,

Your working performance has been reviewed, and you have been found to be in violation of Bigcorpo workplace policies. As per your contract, you are required to take a 30-minute break for lunch and entitled two additional 15-minute breaks to use at your discretion.

As identified to our policy review process, you have multiple periods of inactivity throughout the work week, including:

  • 42 to 59 minutes of inactivity during Wednesdays at 2 PM
  • 27 to 56 minutes of inactivity every day from 12:30 to 1 PM.

These periods of unsanctioned inactivity are against corporate policy, and you will be required to attend mandatory training, which will take place virtually on Wednesdays, after the company-wide weekly All-Hands Project Alignment meetings from 2 to 3. Continued violations will result in your termination.

Thank you,

Douche Nozzle

TexasDrunk ,

My boss didn’t need Recall to do that to me a decade ago. He called me out for going offline in our messenger app for an hour after lunch while I was helping another tech sort an emergency for a client from their machine.

I told him that’s fine, I’ll just let everyone know that I won’t be assisting and will show them that email every time anyone asks. He backed off, but not everyone is going to get that lucky to have a complete moron who is going to put dumb shit threats in writing without running it by anyone in legal, HR, or their own boss.

plumbercraic ,
@plumbercraic@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I can see the use case, and that some people might find this useful (not to mention many agencies and ad companies). But enough was enough, for me at least. Linux Mint rocks. Can’t see myself going back to Windows.

ulkesh ,
@ulkesh@lemmy.world avatar

They never said they were doing away with it. It’s a feature literally no one asked for, it’s insecure, it’s invasive, a privacy nightmare any way you look at it.

And people who willingly use it will deserve all the shit that it is. And meanwhile, I’ll be enjoying my privacy-respecting Linux operating system.

PhreakyByNature ,

I am keeping Win 10 until I can’t safely anymore then Linux may be my next stop. Been looking at CachyOS for gaming.

Blisterexe ,

Why cachy?

Defaced ,

I also would love to know why cachy

Gormadt ,
@Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

IDK why they want to but to me the name seems pretty catchy

ulkesh ,
@ulkesh@lemmy.world avatar

My gaming Linux of choice right now is Garuda.

spread ,

The tendency of the rate of profit to fall is here again. They really do need to squeeze those dollars out

Assman ,
@Assman@sh.itjust.works avatar

Another day I’m thankful I don’t work for a company that uses microshit anymore

demizerone ,

The writing is on the wall, they are not giving up on that potential cash cow. I won’t use it, hell I don’t use windows, but there are normal computer users that will have it thrust upon on them and won’t know how to really turn it off.

kittenzrulz123 ,

I’m glad I don’t use Winbloat

olympicyes ,

Honestly this might be useful to the home user but everyone is right to be skeptical. The bigger value for the software is corporate surveillance. They will be able to see exactly how much time WFH workers are actually working and will probably want it for exfiltration prevention. The target user might not be able to avoid using it no matter what.

bmcgonag ,

To the title of this article /post, all I can say is Duh.

yessikg ,
@yessikg@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Finished migrating to Linux right on time

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